What the heck?!?!?

[freestylenut]

I was reading a thread that brought me in "Worst Amusment Park Experinces" or something along those lines...I was about to respond when I notice:

"Worst Amusment Park Experinces"

 

THREAD CLOSED!

 

Why? If you can't spell 50% of the words right in your thread title, DON'T START THEM!!!

 

--Robb

I know Robb is the "king" of this site, but wasn't that kind of d!ck!ish??? Closing a thread for a couple of misspells?

 

I come in here on average maybe once a week, being that I'm in Central Florida & frequent theme parks around my way regularly, but doing stuff like this isn't winning anyone over. Especially newbies who may be new to the site.

 

And Robb, it would be appreciated if instead of locking THIS thread & maybe suspending my account (wouldn't put it past you given the ABOVE), maybe a PM is in order instead.

 

EDIT: Oh, and for the record, I found this:

3. SPELL CHECK YOUR POSTS!!!! There is a completely FREE spell checker available with the Google toolbar. A typo here and there is completely acceptable. We all are guilty of this. But when someone can't READ your post due to bad spelling, grammar, lack of capitalization, all caps (in posts OR thread titles) etc, that's a problem. If you aren't a good speller (and I totally admit I would be lost without my spellchecker) download it now: http://toolbar.google.com/

If anyone can go back & read the post...let me know if it can't be READ!

[Teacups Make Me Sick]

I thought the same thing when I read that the thread was closed (harsh, not d*ckish, it is annoying that people don't know how to spell check, but not to lambast the kid for being careless).

 

However, when I first read the thread...my first impressions is that the thread was going to be closed anyway due to some b*tch feast that was almost impossible to avoid w such a negative topic.

[mcjaco]

Unless you know the full story behind a poster, perhaps you should not start such threads.

[BeemerBoy]

Taken from the "Ask Alvey" forum:

 

TPR costs about $1000 per month to keep open

 

Let's review. It costs about $1000 a month to provide all of us a no charge, and ad-free site to enjoy a ton of quality content and an excellent forum community, yet we still see threads like this.

 

And Robb, it would be appreciated if instead of locking THIS thread & maybe suspending my account (wouldn't put it past you given the ABOVE), maybe a PM is in order instead.

I find it funny that you didn't choose this course of action yourself.

 

 

[ginzo]

I'm curious why this was even posted to one of the public forms. PM seems like a more appropriate way to handle this. That is unless you're trying to start drama.

[cfc]

Your complaint has been duly noted and logged.

 

Thread locked. Please restrict this sort of inquiry to a PM.

 

Thank you,

 

Chuck

[mcjaco]

I'm curious why this was even posted to one of the public forms. PM seems like a more appropriate way to handle this. That is unless you're trying to start drama.

 

Good call.

 

As stated before, you really need to look a member's post history before you go making threads like this. There's more going on in lot of these cases than everyone knows.

 

In this case, the OP had been warned earlier thatday, to which he apologized (see the 13-17 year old thread), among a few previous warnings.

 

This complaint would have been better served in a PM.

[robbalvey]

Unless you know the full story behind a poster, perhaps you should not start such threads.

Well said, Matt.

 

freestylenut, you have no idea of the history we have of this poster do you? Do you realize how many times we warned him? How many threads we either edited or closed? No. Of course not.

 

Why don't you leave the moderating up to the...wait for it...MODERATORS! Oh yay! That's what THEY are here for.

 

You can worry about the theme parks, roller coasters, and FUN. That is what YOU are here for, right?

 

Trust US, the admins and moderators to worry about the trouble posters. That's all I ask...TRUST US. You worry about the fun, we'll worry about the trouble. It's an easy request and it keeps everyone happy!

 

We, the admins and moderators aren't "mean people", and if you see something you *think* may be taken as such, please try to understand that there is probably some history behind those comments and the comments were just deserved.

 

--Robb

[paintballer]

Unless you know the full story behind a poster, perhaps you should not start such threads.

Well said, Matt.

 

freestylenut, you have no idea of the history we have of this poster do you? Do you realize how many times we warned him? How many threads we either edited or closed? No. Of course not.

 

Why don't you leave the moderating up to the...wait for it...MODERATORS! Oh yay! That's what THEY are here for.

 

You can worry about the theme parks, roller coasters, and FUN. That is what YOU are here for, right?

 

Trust US, the admins and moderators to worry about the trouble posters. That's all I ask...TRUST US. You worry about the fun, we'll worry about the trouble. It's an easy request and it keeps everyone happy!

 

We, the admins and moderators aren't "mean people", and if you see something you *think* may be taken as such, please try to understand that there is probably some history behind those comments and the comments were just deserved.

 

--Robb

 

 

Man, you took being called "dickish" quite well. I would have banned the $#!7 outta him

[Mechanic]

Why? If you can't spell 50% of the words right in your thread title, DON'T START THEM!!!

 

Well, he did spell "worst" and "park" correctly. That's 2 of 4 words for exactly the 50% minimum requirement. Maybe it needs to be bumped up to 51%? Or maybe we need a link to a calculator in addition to the spell checker?

 

Just kidding of course, but I couldn't resist.

 

[Gav]

One thing though is that when a thread gets locked, everyone who posted in it, or was intenting to post is sort of 'punished' too, not just the thread starter.

 

I mean, I totally agree with you in dealing with incessantly annoying posters, but in this case the thread had sort of already 'got going' with a few decent replies. Maybe deal with the guy in some other way that lets everyone else get on with the discussion they were having?

Just my $0.02.

[jjeerr]

TPR is (believe it or not), a "high-class" web fourm. This requires a high degree of moderater-intuition, and sometimes it will seem incorrect to you. And hell, sometimes people might make...bad desisons.

 

Fourm moderation isn't perfect, just like anything posted isn't perfect.

[phazan]

The mods do stuff like that to assert their power, because this is the only place they have authority, and they like to scare 13 year olds so that they get more power over them. It's just insecurity with their own lives, that makes (most) of them act like a jerk over the internet. You know when you're a little kid and the kid who's a bit overweight bullys everyone?? Same thing goes on here.

 

Man, you took being called "dickish" quite well. I would have banned the $#!7 outta him

 

See? This is what I'm talking about. Someone's scared of being on the mod's bad sides, so they say something like this. I've read lots of mature forums that didn't include mods being jerks about everything.

[BeemerBoy]

^ Feel better?

[phazan]

^What?

[terrancew_hod]

^Tell us how you feel and don't hold back this time.

 

TPR is (believe it or not), a "high-class" web fourm.

 

Amen to that! There are some forums that I belonged to that were just free-for-alls: atrocious spelling, flame (no, nuclear) wars, typing in all caps, people creating duplicate accounts to talk about somebody or stir drama, etc.

 

Even worse, the mods were participating in the mayhem! You won't get a respected site like that!

 

Keeping a great site together requires good moderation, but great posters as well. But that means that everyone has to adhere to a certain level of quality when they post... so if you consistently post junk and can't spell to save your life, especially after being warned, don't be surprised if you get "da boot". But if it gets to that point, it's probably better if you take some time off away from your computers to brush up on your weak spots instead of bringing down the quality of the site.

 

Terry

[Jew]

It's just insecurity with their own lives, that makes (most) of them act like a jerk over the internet.

 

So what is it when you feel the need to insult the members of the staff you have never met over the internet?

 

Not sure what any of the moderators could possibly be insecure about: many of us have great jobs, a great family life, and get to travel around the world riding roller coasters. Sucks to be us?

 

While there are some who may disagree with how someone moderates: the fact of the matter is that TPR is now the largest theme park message board on the internet, so we must be doing something right! I personally believe that being more aggressive in keeping posts "valuable" (correct grammar, meaningful, etc.) is part of that, but I understand those who might disagree. That's why there are tons of other internet forums out there for you to enjoy as well.

[BeemerBoy]

^^^ I'm just saying, it seems like you've had that on you chest awhile.

 

 

Here's the thing, folks. And keep in mind, this is not Alvey-a$$kissing 101. The mods are only doing what is handed down from the top. It's not "bullying," it's called practicing quality control.

 

Some of the younger members take longer to grasp this than others (and some older ones too, actually). Some are put in their place early, realize their mistakes, and return as better, quality posters. Others get pissed off, leave, lurk and continue to harbor ill feelings. Everyone's different.

 

Think about this for a moment. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, a LOT goes into providing this quality site for FREE. How easy would it be for Robb and Elissa to just say,"Screw it, we're just gonna go off and do our own thing now. There's no need to cater to hundreds off pissed off 13 year olds?"

 

Seriously, think about that for a moment. Are you willing to shell out $1000 a month and let bad content ruin your product? Something tells me no. If Robb and Elissa want the mods to keep the boards clean of pointless stupidity, then the mods have to do their "jobs."

 

Come on, kids. It's a simple concept, really. Learn to appreciate the ground rules, or just be a pissed off, resentful lurker. Either way, TPR continues to be free to all. Now would someone who just wants to "be a jerk over the internet" continue to provide everyone that option?

[MG]

I personally feel that generally the Mods do a really good job. There is always going to be some level of intrusion, the idea of moderating requires it. The very fact that spam threads disappear quickly is testament to the guard kept by the Mods. Sometimes the replies from them might seem a little harsh, but I'm guessing you wouldn't be the happiest person on the planet if you kept finding thread repeats, spam and awful spelling. A perfect example of good moderating was the recently locked 'Speedos' thread. This thread was quickly descending into chaos and for a while the Mods let things slide, however the Mods quicly intervened when it was obvious it had gone too far. Although I am sure it will not have been popular with the parties concerned, the Moderators were right in acting.

[mcjaco]

The mods do stuff like that to assert their power, because this is the only place they have authority, and they like to scare 13 year olds so that they get more power over them. It's just insecurity with their own lives, that makes (most) of them act like a jerk over the internet. You know when you're a little kid and the kid who's a bit overweight bullys everyone?? Same thing goes on here.

 

Man, you took being called "dickish" quite well. I would have banned the $#!7 outta him

 

See? This is what I'm talking about. Someone's scared of being on the mod's bad sides, so they say something like this. I've read lots of mature forums that didn't include mods being jerks about everything.

 

Um, wow.

 

If you think I have nothing better to do than assert my power over thirteen year olds, you're barking up the wrong tree. Joey hit the nail on the head. This is just as much a hobby for us, as it is for everyone else. We all have jobs, families, other hobbies that make us happy.

 

Look, 99% of the time the mods let things slide here. *Backstage spolier warning* We do have a Mod forum and often discuss threads and members before we act "dickish." There's that one percent of posters that are continually just bad, and there's no way around it. That's not to say we haven't had a few figure it out, and turn the corner. I can think of two or three right now.

 

Again, when you see a locked thread, it's usually because of a lot more issues with a member than what you saw in that thread (or post) alone. Does that mean we're right 100% of the time? No. We make mistakes too.

[steel]

I agree with MG for the most part.

Most of the time, our moderators are really, really good.

However, there have been numerous cases that I would go so far as to call mean. Nine times out of ten, the perpetrator is simply not informed, and sarcastic or mean-spirited comments on the part of the moderator are completely uncalled for. Being rude doesn't work. It may not be as fun, but it doesn't hurt anyone to explain in a brief message exactly why the thread is being closed, pure and simple. That's one of my problems with this site. I understand the whole sarcastic influence going on, but sometimes it turns kind of mean, and I would love to see that change.

 

 

EDIT: Actually, now that I think about it, the "Dumbest Things Said on TPR" is a great example of the mean-spiritedness that I think is kind of a downfall for this (otherwise excellent) site. I understand that some things people say are just ridiculous, but that thread leans much more heavily toward open mocking than innocent teasing.

[mcjaco]

I'm going to give all of you one example on why being a mod can be very frustrating:

 

CAN SOMEONE MAKE ME A CTR OF THE NEW HYPERCOASTER B&M TRAINS THE ONES USED ON DIAMONDBACK AND BEHEAMITH (SPELLCHECK) LOL I NEED IT ALSO CAN SOME ONE TELL ME HOW TO DOWNLOADE PARKS THANKS X0

 

This has been started as two seperate threads.

[KnottsDisneyFarm]

some moderator on Club Penguin banned me for NO reason.

If this was you, you'd better watch out (you'd better not cry, too)

[TPDave]

You know when you're a little kid and the kid who's a bit overweight bullys everyone?? Same thing goes on here.

 

Are you calling me fat?

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

Well...The mods here do a much better job than say...NBA officiating, so it's not that bad.